Reminiscence and Appreciation
by oh-mai-word
Summary: Patrick and Shelagh have a special night out that stemmed from an old friend of Shelagh's. Will be multiple chapters :)
1. Chapter 1

"Shelagh?" Patrick called from the bottom of the stairs. He was becoming rather impatient.

Still, no answer.

"Shelagh, darling?"

"Oh! What is it Patrick?" She exasperatedly rushed to the top of the stairs, attempting to simultaneously insert her left earring.

She stopped. He stopped. She was struggling to put on her earring, too busy to notice the look on his face - the look of a child in a chocolate shop - as she came into his view.

"Patrick?" She felt she was wasting time.

"Oh," snapped back to reality, Patrick shook his head and straightened his back. "I wanted to ask if you might need anything. We stand the chance of being late if we do not leave soon."

"Patrick, if you do not allow me to dress in peace, we will never be on time."

She prepared to walk away until he began to make his way up the few stairs. She decided she would wait for him. After all, in his charcoal grey suit, white shirt, and navy paisley tie, Patrick was a pleasure to watch. She wondered if he had felt the same way when she appeared in her rather fitted gown. The neckline was not low, but elegantly wide, and her new black belt emphasized her waist in her navy blue dress. She observed that as soon as his eyes lost contact with hers, they flitted between her collarbone and her waist. She chuckled at the thought, and turned away towards their room as he reached the top.

"Shelagh, we are always on time. Your punctuality has no rival."

"Well, let us keep it that way, shall we?" she attempted to suppress the budding smile on her face as he tore his eyes away from her and attempted to approach the mirror.

"Wait! Patrick?" He quickly spun around. "I can't manage to get this earring in. Would you help me?"

Thrilled to be needed and helpful, Patrick took the earring she held out to him and successfully placed it in her piercing. He could never handle the small pieces and left that part to Shelagh.

"Thank you, dear" she finished, effectively dismissing him as she put the finishing touches on her outfit.

"Anything for you, Shelagh," He asserted. "Is there anything else I can do?"

His eyes held a glint of mischief that Shelagh quickly detected, so she dismissed him with a firm "No, Patrick."

He saw the glint in her eyes too, but decided not to tease her any longer. They _were_ going to be late, after all.

After straightening his tie in the mirror, he caught a glimpse of her applying mascara over his shoulder. His eye caught hers, and wider smiles have never existed than those that were plastered on their faces.

"Now then, before I put my lipstick on…"

She did not even need to finish her sentence, for he caught her meaning. She did not need to tell him twice. They both turned. He put his arms around her and she placed her hands around his head, careful not to disturb his hair as their lips met.

Seconds passed in embrace, until Shelagh, through her closed eyelids, felt the light change in the room. This prompted her eyes open and she stepped away from a lost Patrick to check her watch.

"Patrick! We should have left 10 minutes ago. We cannot be late for this!"

"Are you ready to go?" He breathed, eyes closed, still lost in their embrace.

"Yes." She smiled with a touch of nervousness. Her excitement permeated the air between them.

"Well then, after you, milady." They both laughed as she grabbed her purse, which included her compact and lipstick, and grabbed his hand.

* * *

 ** _I hope you liked the first piece! The next few will follow soon :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

She was so much in awe that she could not speak.

The ceiling was so high and the space so large. She could only imagine the expense that Alexander must have gone to in order to treat her in such a way.

"Reservation for the name 'Turner'?" she absently heard Patrick request. The chandelier in the entrance was riveting, and Shelagh could hardly take her attention from it. Patrick's hand brought her back to reality as he held hers and prompted her to walk with him and follow the maître d'hôtel.

She still had a hard time believing it.

She had accidentally met Alexander two weeks ago, completely surprised to see the changes that 14 years bring. The last she had seen of him, he was a tall, blond, and awkward young man, off to medical school in America. The man whom she had met last Thursday on her way home from shopping, she hardly even recognized.


	3. Chapter 3

"Shelagh?"

She turned, confused. The only man in her life who called her "Shelagh" as opposed to "Mrs. Turner" was her own Patrick. Who could this be?

Looking for the face on the street, her eyes halted on a familiar face looking back at her which she could not quite place.

"Shelagh!" his smile was contagious, she couldn't help but smile too. "It's me, Alexander."

Her smile immediately widened as her eyes raptly observed every change in her old pupil and friend.

"Alex! Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised, as he came close for a hug. He must have taken to the American tendency for physical expression, she thought. "How have you been? It is so good to see you."

"Wonderful! How nice to see a familiar face, it appears that the entire population of London has changed in a mere decade!"

"Oh, Alex. Ever the exaggerator you are." She winked. "Well, I assume you still work in America?"

"Yes, that I do. Hectic though it may be," he sighed. "But nevertheless rewarding. And I could not have done it without you. You were a wonderful tutor."

A small cherry blossom tint appeared on her cheeks. "Well, a teacher is only as successful as her student is perseverant."

They smiled, taking note of each other, as one does when meeting and old friend left unseen for many years.

They then began to walk, continuing towards their respective destinations.

"Alex, what brings you back?"

"Well, we wanted to visit my parents, have them meet the baby."

"We? The baby?" Now, his cheeks turned a ferocious red. His pale skin never failed to betray his wish to suppress his deeper emotions. "Alex, you don't mean to tell me that you, the most reserved person I have ever met-this coming from me-has managed to find _true, pure, and unadulterated_ love?" she teased, his blood rushed cheeks inciting laughter to rise out of her.

"From what I have heard, you seem to have found love too. In a local GP, nonetheless."

His blush jumped back to her.

"Well, enough about me, I haven't changed much." She lied. She definitely lied. He was not aware of her tenure as a nun, and she was not going to inform him. "Tell me about your family." She offered, attempting to change the conversation.

"As the teacher wishes." He smiled. "After about 3 years ago, I found Helen at the hospital. She is a nurse just like you. And after about 4 months we decided to marry, but we had to postpone our wedding for about a year. She had tuberculosis, you see."

That struck her. Should she share her experience with him?

No, there was no need.

"And so we waited until she became well enough to marry, which we did about 10 months ago. And now, we have Kenneth."

"Oh how lovely! Alex, I'm afraid this is my bus back home. Do telephone me before you leave, I would be glad to speak a bit more after all these years." She wrote down her home phone and the office phone on her pad and gave him the sheet.

"Shelagh, I will call you this evening. I have a proposition."

"Alright then Alex. Tonight it is. Perhaps after dinnertime?"

"That would be wonderful."

"Until this evening then, Alex." She smiled as she boarded the bus, still in disbelief of her short and unexpected rendez-vous.


	4. Chapter 4

Patrick was becoming the slightest bit exasperated. He continued to tell himself that he was just fine sitting alone on the couch, reading the most recent Lancet, thinking about anything but cigarettes. Yet truly, he just wanted to be with her. This time, after dinner when Angela was asleep and Tim sequestered to his bedroom, was their time. This was their opportunity to freely speak to each other, to talk about their day, to discuss their lives, to discuss their children, to share hopes and dreams, to hold each other close without the propriety that the outside world demands. He wanted to hold her.

But she was on the telephone. Going on 30 minutes.

He identified what he felt. Jealousy. Not because he had anything to fear, for their love was sure and had a sure foundation, but because he wanted her time. He knew it was unrealistic, perhaps even selfish; she had a life of her own, after all, and, according to Timothy and his psychological books, an independent life is healthy. But he couldn't help but wish that he could spend so much more time with her.

"Alex! I cannot accept, that is far too much!"

Curiosity overcame him, and he decided to approach the phone. A few minutes of insistence from this Alex person resulted in acquiescence from Shelagh, who seemed to be begrudgingly happy. Yet Patrick heard a hint of sadness in her voice. Finally, the phone call finished, and Shelagh turned around to see Patrick standing less than a meter away, waiting, a question painted on his face. She slowly headed straight for a long hug. After a moment, Patrick's surprise wore off as he tightened their embrace. Somehow, a hug from her made everything alright, despite the day's events.

"Shelagh, what is the matter?" Genuine worry spread across his face when after a few moments, she still held on tightly.

She leaned back to gain sight of his face.

"Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is right, but hearing about Helen and the baby…"

"Are they alright?" At dinner, Shelagh had mentioned her surprise encounter with Alex and had briefly elaborated. There was just the one subject she had not wanted to mention with the children around.

"Yes, it is just that- Well, Helen also suffered from tuberculosis…"

She needed to say no more as he held her all the more tightly. Their infertility would always be something that reignited a subconscious thought of sadness that from time to time reappeared. After a few moments of tearless crying, they both walked over to the sofa and sat together for a while, cherishing each other in silence. That was all that he had wanted.


	5. Chapter 5

"How is it?" He truly did not need an answer, for the fact that she closed her eyes and savored every bite of the decadent chocolate cake was answer enough.

"Wonderful, Patrick. Absolutely wonderful." Her piercing blue eyes opened at the mention of his name. "I cannot fathom why Alex would be so kind."

"Being kind to a wonderful person like you is not that difficult."

Her cheeks became the color of the cherry that crowned her cake.

"If I remember correctly, you've been _more than kind_ , Doctor."

His cheeks reddened like Tim's had over Christmas when she had mentioned a certain part of the female anatomy in a Christmas Carol.

"You remember everything, don't you?"

"Well, that was one of the most important days of my life."

The tone of the conversation changed and became much more significant.

"It took every ounce of self-restraint that I had ever had not to tell you that my heart was completely yours."

Her heart ached, for she had felt the same way.

"I could barely walk away. I remember being lost in your eyes for a moment before I realized that you were off limits, that my love for you could never leave the confines of my habit."

"Maybe I should have told you."

"Oh but Patrick, you did! Your letters gave me every certainty. And you are much too considerate to ever push me to do something that I wouldn't want. I firmly believe that everything happened the way that it was supposed to. I had to make a decision on my own, and so did you."

"I supposed we had to know, deeply and truly, the turmoil of being apart so that we can cherish being together."

Moments passed in warm silence until their server returned to check on them and then left.

"Not to change the subject, Patrick, but this cake is absolutely divine."

"Ahhh, my replacement."

"Well it is quite effective at stimulating endorphins."

"I like to think that I can do that too" he pouted, slightly amused and also wondering.

The glint in her eye gave him all the answer he searched for.

"Perhaps we can verify that fact this evening."

"Perhaps" He laughed.

They always found themselves laughing when they spoke about this topic, but when it came into fruition, the laughing was replaced with vehemence, whether gentle or persistent.

"Patrick?"

"Yes?"

"I thought it could have worn off by now."

"What?"

"This newlywed feeling. I know you so much more and yet the feeling hasn't changed."

"Well I would hope not." He joked.

"Patrick, I'm serious. I always thought that marriage began with an excitement at the novelty of love in the beginning which eventually tapered off into nothing. But I don't experience that. I love you just as much, if not more, than I ever did. The excitement is still there, but I feel a new love in knowing you more and more."

The look in his eyes showed a depth of reciprocation that could never be expressed with mere verbal language. It said a simple "I _love_ you completely," regardless of anything and everything.

They went home, content in being with each other and next to each other, for the two were equal in value and pleasure.


End file.
